Cookeville Police Focused On School Zone Safety

The Cookeville Police Department working to reduce speeding and distracted driving in school zones for the new school year.

Public Information Officer Anthony Leonard said the department dedicates resources to preventing problems in these important areas. Leonard said it is extra important to pay attention when in a school zone because the traffic is much heavier in those areas.

“Speeding in general is a concern, but any time you (are) at a school zone, it becomes even more of a concern,” Leonard said. “Obviously safety for our children and those that are around the school are going to be priority. And it’s not been a very big issue. We’ve not seen too many problems with speeding in school zones.”

Leonard said teachers and parents should encourage students to be careful in school zones and to stay on the section of the sidewalk furthest away from the road.

“Being off the phone while you’re walking is important as well,” Leonard said. “If your eyes are down ’cause you’re texting or not paying attention, then you could accidentally step out into the road or get too close to traffic.”

Leonard said although phones are the most common cause of distracted driving, anything can be a distraction such as billboards, passengers, or the radio. Leonard said the department does targeted enforcement for schools with certain officers assigned to monitor school zone traffic on a regular basis.

“We also have some saturation patrols where we’ll put additional officers in or near school zones to watch for those violations like distracted driving, you know, with the hands free law, or speeding and things like that,” Leonard said.

Leonard said the Tennessee Highway Safety Office has conducted studies that show that a police car will affect traffic just by being in the area.

“But also that for every one traffic stop that’s made, that there’s seven other drivers impacted,” Leonard said. “So when an officer does make a traffic stop, it impacts seven other drivers to correct their actions.”